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2007 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Draft Lottery took place at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on June 11, 2007. The first half of the draft was televised live for three hours on WWE's flagship program, Raw on USA Network. The second half of the draft, or the "supplemental draft", was conducted over WWE's website, WWE.com, for four hours on June 17, 2007 as draft picks were announced at twenty minute intervals. There were twenty-three draft picks, with twenty-seven superstars drafted overall, between the promotion's three brands: Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW. For the televised half of the draft, each brand's draft pick was determined by nine matches, one being a battle royal for two draft picks, where superstars from their respective brands wrestled to earn a draft pick. The supplemental draft, however, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections. Raw and SmackDown! received five random draft picks, while ECW received three random draft picks. The televised draft picks were randomly selected by a computer that was shown on the Raw titantron. Every WWE superstar and diva from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW was eligible to be drafted. Background The draft was announced by Shane McMahon on the May 28, 2007 episode of Raw from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and was promoted as the "first ever tri-branded draft". Besides the promoted draft, the show was billed as "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night", a tribute of appreciation to the WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. The Draft Lottery is a concept used by WWE to improve its weekly television ratings of Raw, SmackDown! and ECW'. The WWE yet again used the concept in 2007, to improve its television ratings. The 2007 WWE Draft was the first official draft lottery to take place in WWE since the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery. Superstar selections Televised draft Matches During the program, representatives from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown brands were involved in matches that determined which brand received a draft pick. Overall, there were 9 matches, Both SmackDown! and Raw got four while ECW got two. Selections Supplemental draft * 1 - The referee reversed his decision to give The Miz the win due to Snitsky ignoring the referee whilst attacking The Miz. * 2 - This person was drafted alongside the drafted wrestler. * 3 - Bobby Lashley was stripped of the ECW title after being drafted to Raw, rendering the title vacant. * 4 - Both members of the tag team were drafted in unison. * 5 - Viscera would debut on the July 10 episode of ECW repackaged as Big Daddy V. * 6 - Hardcore Holly made his redebut on Raw rather than SmackDown!. * 7 - Weeks after his ECW debut, Johnny Nitro would repackage himself as John Morrison. Aftermath The 2007 Draft Lottery provided WWE's three brands with new superstars, allowing for new storylines and rivalries. Television ratings for WWE increased, as Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW became the most watched programs on their respective television networks in the summer of 2007. Four months after the draft, on [[October 16]], 2007, it was announced that ECW and SmackDown! would have a talent exchange that would allow superstars from their respective brands to compete on either brand. See also *WWE Brand Extension *WWE Draft References External links *WWE Draft 2007 Results at WWE.com *WWE Supplemental Draft 2007 Results at WWE.com Category:WWE Draft